Even though Bjorn Lasserud was born in Norway he didn’t begin cross country skiing until he lived in Minnesota.
He did ski jump and drank a bit more than was healthy. When Lasserud and his wife came to America, he felt he needed to do something to avoid drinking too much.
He was running one day when a man asked him what sport was he training for. The next think he knew, he was training with Twin Cities nordic ski activist, Norm Oakvik.
Last weekend Lasserud was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Minnesota Nordic Ski Association for his significant contributions to cross country skiing in Minnesota.
Beginning inn 1965 Lasserud and Oakvik offered training sessions at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis and later moved them to Highland Park in St. Paul.
Lasserud was known for his patience and support of novice skiers. In his Norwegian brogue he would ask, “Can I help you?”
He was involved in the Minneapolis Ski Club where he coached.
He also helped with the Ski For Light program that brought blind skiers from Norway. Lasserud helped blind people learn to ski in the program for three years.
“Skiing has made me a better person. It is the best sport there is,” Said Lasserud.
Lasserud has become a leading masters skier competing in the national master’s championships as well as international competitions, finishing second in the Norwegian Birkebeiner. He is the most proud of winning the World Master’s Title.
Other skiers recognized at the event were Jessie Diggins for Junior Racer of
the Year; Leif Nordgren for Senior Racer of the Year and Bonnie Fuller-Kask for Coach of the Year.
The winners of the Minnesota Skinny Ski Series were also honored with Cheryl DuBois winning the woman’s overall honor and David Chistopherson winning the men’s overall.
They will both compete in the Fossavatn Ski Marathon in Reykjavik, Iceland. Both have been there before and look forward to the competition.
DuBois remembers the thrill of skiing with world class skiers from around the world as well as the good food before and after the event.
“The night before the event we had a big pasta feed, the next night it was cakes and pies,” remembers DuBois.
“I’ve been impressed at how well the race is run and how stark the course is, it is all rock and snow,” said Chirstopherson.
